


Corruption

by pusdowriting



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-07
Updated: 2021-03-07
Packaged: 2021-03-13 10:02:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,067
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29899440
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pusdowriting/pseuds/pusdowriting
Summary: Ahsoka gets in over her head.
Kudos: 9





	Corruption

Ahsoka waited patiently for the chancellor in their small starship just outside the main hangar bay. They had met a few times before but never one on one and Ahsoka was more than a bit nervous. It wasn’t every day you got to spend time with the most powerful man in the universe. As the young padawan made some final preparations on the ship’s take off procedure the door behind her opened with a distinctive “whoosh” sound, indicating that someone had entered the ship. She turned around to see Palpatine's old, slightly wrinkled face staring down at her from the entrance. He wore red and black, silken robes contrasted ever so slightly with a grey undergown. His eyebrow raised as his head moved from side to side, inspecting the room around him as if looking for something. Obviously failing to find it his eyes met Ahsoka’s once more. 

‘Ahsoka, isn’t it?’ The chancellor asked after a moment. His confused features quickly being replaced with his usual warm smile. Ahsoka had expected to meet the chancellor outside and had been caught a little flatfooted. She couldn’t decide whether she should act friendly and casual or if she should go all in with a discrete bow and a mention of his honorary titles. Ahsoka’s indecisiveness had allowed an awkward silence to develop, much to her frustration and embarrassment. In an effort to quickly address the problem she shot up out of her seat in a hasty action and quickly bowed. 

‘Your excellency.’ she managed to say. Palpatine took a liking to that and walked further into the cabin. As he did so he tucked both his arms into his adjacent sleeves before speaking again. This time allowing his eyes to fall to the ship’s control panel as he spoke, as if to hide his face. 

‘I thought this was going to be a personal trip between myself and your master. I am surprised he invited you along.’ As Ahsoka listened to the chancellor's words she thought she detected the slightest hint of annoyance in his voice. Though she couldn’t be sure since he was very good at keeping a steady tone. “It must come with being a politician” she thought to herself. 

‘Anakin asked me to apologise for him, he was called away on urgent business. He didn’t want you to miss out on your trip just because he couldn’t come though so he sent me to keep you company.’ Ahsoka explained hastily, almost forgetting to breathe between her sentences due to her nervousness. 

‘I see.’ Palpatine muttered to himself. His eyes were squinting as he stared into his lap contemplatively. Ahsoka feared that he was upset but as ever the chancellor's monotone and characteristically austere persona made it hard to tell for sure. The suspense began to become too much for her so she reached out into the force to try and sense his emotions for herself. As she did so she found herself straining a little from the effort and becoming frustrated by the fact she couldn’t read him. It was almost like he wasn’t there. Palpatine must have noticed her efforts because he was now staring her down with a powerful scowl. One that sent a shiver down her spine as if she were staring down the jaws of some great beast. 

‘I’m sorry your excellency, I didn’t mean too…’ Ahsoka began her apology, afraid she had offended him, only to be relieved when his features instantly relaxed and he began to laugh it off. 

‘My dear young padawan, you shouldn’t be embarrassed by your powers. They are a gift.’ The chancellor assured her. The sudden change in his demeanour was like whiplash leaving Ahsoka that much more off balance. ‘You were trying to read me. Were you not?’ Palpatine asked. Ahsoka decided to be candid with him. 

‘Yes, your excellency.’ Ahsoka admitted, her face blushing a little from embarrassment. 

‘What did you read in me then?’ The chancellor asked, slightly forcefully but in a warm, patriarchal way that was disarming for the young girl. ‘Be honest.’ He insisted as his eyes began to scan her features intently.

‘I read nothing. I couldn’t sense anything.’ Ahsoka answered as she rubbed her shoulder to comfort herself. The Chancellor smiled and relaxed his features as he heard this. Before long he was moving to close the distance between them.

‘Do not be embarrassed. You are still very young. You will learn these things in time.’ The chancellor took her shoulder in his hand and gave her a light squeeze in the way older people sometimes did before taking the co-pilot's seat in the shuttle. 

‘Would you like to fly your excellency?’ Ahsoka asked uncertainly, wondering if such a thing was even allowed. 

‘No, no. I haven't flown a ship in years. I’m afraid I would be rusty.’ He replied as he motioned for her to take the seat next to him. Ahsoka hurried to obey, taking the controls and preparing the ship for liftoff as swiftly as she could. 

‘I’ll get us to Naboo without hiccup your Excellency.’ Ahsoka promised and she turned on the engines and began to activate the nav-computer. 

‘I have every confidence in you young Jedi but we aren’t going to Naboo.’ Palpatine informed her matter of factly. 

‘Pardon?’ Ahsoka asked, confused. The chancellor leaned back in his chair. 

‘I merely told my aids that we were going to Naboo. My intention was to lose them and spend time with your master alone. Off the grid. Since he is not coming I will have to make do with you child. Though if you are anything like you master, you will be great company.’ It seemed to Ahsoka that the chancellor had an odd way of seemingly talking to himself even when he was clearly addressing her. She found it slightly unnerving but nearly as unnerving as the thought of aiding the chancellor in fooling the republic and going off on a secret holiday. Though it was becoming quickly obvious to her why Anakin and Palpatine were such close friends. They obviously had a shared apathy when it came to society’s rules. 

‘Ok, your excellency. Where are we going?’ Ahsoka asked. 

‘Korriban’ The chancellor answered. Ahsoka had never heard of the planet but dutifully put the name of the planet into the ship’s console and the nav-computer did the rest. With that they were off.


End file.
